Thomas Ralph Smith of Bristol, Indiana passed away peacefully on December 6, 2022. Tom was happily married to Joan Kaye Smith (Spesshardt) for 67 years. They met at Elkhart High School in 1952 and were married in 1955. He is survived by his wife Joan, his two daughters, Terri Kaye Shreve (Tom Shreve) of Jakarta, Indonesia and Laura Jean Smith of Elkhart, Indiana, two granddaughters, Hannah Smith and Amina Shreve, and countless beloved family and friends. After four years in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s, Tom's desire to see the world led him to attend university in Mexico City for an International Business degree. He then earned 2 years of a Master's Degree in Economics from Georgetown University when he moved just shy of completing his dissertation. Miles Laboratories in Elkhart gave him his first opportunity overseas and the family moved in 1967 to Sao Paulo, Brasil for 2.5 years, then to Melbourne, Australia for 2.5 years, and back to Bristol for 3 years. Tom then changed companies and began a 25 year stint as International Vice President of  Combe Inc., a Health and Beauty Aids company, based in New York. The family returned to Sao Paulo, Brasil for 8 years, ultimately finishing international living in New York and Connecticut. Retiring back in Bristol in 2004, Tom and Joan designed their ultimate dream home, built around a one hundred year old barn. Tom Smith was a beloved and extraordinary person, friend, husband and father, who relished life and influenced positively everyone who came into his orbit. He will be enormously missed and never forgotten.

The celebration of Tom’s life will be held at Walley-Mills-Zimmerman Funeral Home on Sunday, December 11. Visitation is at 1:00 and the eulogy and sharing of memories will begin at 2:00.